The venue in Toronto was packed for the Overwatch League 2023 playoffs, with a roaring crowd cheering for every amazing play. While that was going on, though, one fan got everyone’s opinion on the decision that differentiated Overwatch from Overwatch 2.
Hundreds of fans voted on a sign that avid fan Slamtaro brought to the venue, with two options for a vote: 5v5 or 6v6. I was one of the first to vote on it, and I ended up as part of the majority. A total of 679 votes were cast, with the winning 367 voting for 5v5. It was a relatively even split for a game that only got this change in recent years, but a slight majority of fans in Toronto agreed that 5v5 was better.
It was such a debated topic that all the votes barely fit on the sign, looking like modern art that fans even added their own little unique drawings onto, like a smiling face in the six or a little “me” under the 5v5 tag. There were multiple signs brought in over the event by Slamtaro, all revolving around votes for popular contentious topics in Overwatch, from favorite metas to bringing back removed game modes or hero changes. The 5v5 vs 6v6 debate led to two different signs, however, one for the first two days of the event and the other for the final two.
The debate around 5v5 and 6v6 has surged in recent times, mostly due to content creators looking back to Overwatch and pointing to some of the recent balance updates as potentially unfixable due to the 5v5 format. The big loss from that change was the second tank, meaning that every tank needed to be changed to be playable by themselves. Doomfist joined the tank role, while Orisa got an entire rework outside of one ability. But even with constant changes to who is best, sometimes playing tank or support can be frustrating no matter what happens.
Alas, looking back to 6v6, it wasn’t perfect either. The lack of support that Blizzard gave to Overwatch when Overwatch 2 was in development led to one meta sticking around for almost an entire year, the dreaded GOATS. Three tanks, three supports, and almost no way to counter other than mirroring it. It eventually ended thanks to role lock, but then came double shield, which arguably was more frustrating to play against due to how much it slowed down a fast-paced game.
Lots of players who attended the OWL 2023 playoffs in Toronto had their own opinions, but it seems that the ones who decided to pack their bags to see the best teams in the world live also agreed that Overwatch 2’s change to 5v5 has done more good than bad for gameplay.
